dg_cain | Whispers of the Heart: Prologue

Here is the prologue to my story Whispers of the Heart.
Just click the Read more...button and start on your adventure!
I do hope that you guys like it!

Title: Whispers of the Heart
Author: nadeshiko1
Characters/Pairings: DG/Cain, Glitch/Az, multiple Tin Man characters, multiple OCs
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/Spoilers: Tin Man, all three parts. L. Frank Braum's Oz books.
Summary: The Eclipse is over, but the O.Z. needs to heal. DG & Az can only do that by finding its missing guardians before evil tries to destroy the land once more.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Whispers of the Heart – Prologue

DG took one look around her room as she packed the final box of her possessions. All around were other boxes of her things that she was taking with her back to her home in the O.Z. Except for the bed with the bed sheets, pillow, and quilt that her robotic mom had made for her some time ago it looked like nobody lived there, especially not her. All of her drawings were put into a portfolio folder, her dresser drawers and closet were empty, and her desk, both in the drawers and the desktop, had been cleared out. All of her things were tucked away in boxes that were in a wagon outside the front of the house.

Even though she was going back to her home in the O.Z., she still couldn’t help the feelings of sadness as they swept over her. This had been her home for fifteen years, or annuls as they called them in the O.Z., and she was about to go back to a home she barely even remembered, even with the help of her parents, her sister, and her friends. Still, she felt real eager to get back. After Azkadellia had been freed from the Black Witch, she, DG, her parents, and friends had done everything in their power to purge the O.Z. of the witch’s presence. After freeing all of the prisoners in the Black Tower, it had been destroyed by the Eastern Resistance. The same resistance also rounded up Longcoats and scientists of the anti-Sunseeder and locked them in prisons inside Central City.

As soon as Queen Lavender and Prince Consort Ahamo were reinstated to their titles, the queen appointed the Eastern Resistance as the new Royal Militia, with Jeb Cain as one of its captains. Ahamo and Lavender sent envoys to neighboring kingdoms in the Eastern, Western, Northern, and Southern realms of the O.Z. to tell them of the defeat of the Black Witch and that the entire royal family had been freed. The neighboring dignitaries had been less than thrilled with the thought of a freed Azkadellia after 15 years of darkness, but Lavender, Ahamo, and even DG stood firm in their support of Azkadellia and things had begun to smooth over.

DG gave a small sigh as she picked up the last of the boxes and started to head towards the door to go downstairs. She got to the door and almost made it through, but stopped. She turned around and gave the room one final look at her old room, her old life. “Goodbye Kansas.”

“I can’t believe you used to live in this place.” DG looked from looking at her old to home to her sister at the bottom of the stairs. She had on of her arms across her waist with other resting on it and in her hand was a Granny Smith apple that was partially eaten. She was wearing a simple green silk blouse, black riding pants, and black riding boots.

DG had told her mother she flat out would not wear dresses or skirts unless it was for a special occasion and no matter what Lavender said, DG would not budge. So the Queen had tailors make casual and dress pants for DG and even Azkadellia. DG herself was wearing a simple red blouse with the jeans she had worn from her first adventure in the O.Z. and black riding boots.

“Well, sister dear,” Dg said in an amused tone as she came down the staircase, “I was sent here to survive, not to be the pretty princess that I am. Besides, I liked it here for the most part.”

Azkadellia was about to take another bite of the apple, but paused at DG’s words. “You missed home didn’t you?"
DG smiled at how her sister knew her so well. “Yeah, I did. I even used to dream of this place before going there.” Azkadellia just smiled.

Then, Henry came. After using a bit of mechanics and a little magic, the robots had been restored to their original form. They visited DG as often as they could, but their place was in Milltown with the other robots. “You ladies ready to hit the road,” he said as he took the last box from DG.
“We sure are,” Azkadellia said perkily as she chucked the remainder of the apple in a nearby trash bin.

DG gave a look around the house. “But what about this place? You and Emily are keeping it right.”
Henry gave her a sad smile. “’Fraid not, Sweetie. We already sold the house to someone.” He turned and headed out the door, DG and Azkadellia behind him. “We gotta good deal too, since we’re leaving behind all the furniture and appliances.” DG knew it was silly, but she still wished they'd kept the house just in case they did want to come back, for any reason or another.

Outside, Emily was already waiting at the front of a wagon drawn by two cart horses. Tethered to the back of the wagon were two stallions all saddled and ready to go. The sisters untied both horses, got on, and headed to the front of the wagon where Henry was already settling in next to Emily.

Side by side, the sisters grabbed hands and let the power of the light flow between them. Suddenly, the skies darkened and the wind picked up as a tornado began to form a few miles from the house in the fields. DG took in a shuddering breath. She had ridden her horse Asriel through the travel storm to get to Earth, but she was still nervous since her first trip when she was tossed into the storm from the farmhouse.

“Hey sis.” DG turned to Azkadellia who had a mischievous smirk on her face. “Wanna race?”
DG smiled at her sister who seemed to have no fear of the monstrous storm. “Sure.”

Both girls spurred their horses towards the storm.

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They were still laughing as they rode up to the stables at Finaqua. The royals had decided to move their operations there so that they could take in its healing powers and begin to recuperate.

As the girls went into the stables, two grooms came forward and steadied their horses as they dismounted. They also saw Queen Lavender coming towards them with Tudor, in his dog form, at her heels. She embraced them both. “Hello, my dears. How was your trip to the Other Side?”

DG smiled at her mother. “Good, it was nice seeing Kansas one last time and give it a proper goodbye.”

“Well that’s good,” said Lavender, then she turned to DG. “DG, my angel, there is a visitor waiting for you in the parlor upstairs who has just returned from Central City.” She smiled as DG’s eyes widened in recognition of her visitor. She quickly excused herself and made a dash for the stairs that led to the upper floors.

As DG raced up the stairs, Azkadellia turned to her mother with a curious glance. “Just what are you planning, Mother?” The Queen just smiled knowingly as mother and daughter walked towards the stairs with Tudor trailing behind them.

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DG went as fast as she could without breaking into a run. It had been about a month since she’d last seen him and she’d missed him terribly. Sure her parents and Azkadellia had been wonderful, but it was his company that she desired most of all.

As she got closer to the parlor doors, she slowed down to a walk. At the front of the doors, she made sure to check her hair and outfit so that nothing was out of place. She then took a deep, cleansing breath to calm her nerves and opened one of the doors.

The room had a huge fireplace in between two large bay windows overlooking the palace gardens and lake. It was a deep cornflower blue color room with white chair railings in the middle. Even the drapes were the same shade as the walls were. On the left side was a dark oak cabinet full of blue-and-white china. On both sides of the fireplace were two cream plush chairs with deep cornflower blue Afghans draped over the top of each. In the middle of the chairs was a small oak in-table with a large, clear vase with a dozen blue roses inside. On the right side was a plush couch of the same blue color as the wall. A cream colored afghan was draped across the top of it.

But, it wasn’t the room that caught DG’s attention. Far from it, it was the man inside pacing slowly from one end of the fireplace to the other that had her attention. He seemed nervous, especially from the way he was clutching and rolling his fedora around in his hands. Besides looking nervous, he looked exactly the same. His mossy green colored duster fitting his form nicely, his gun in its holster peeking out from under his duster at his hip, his boots making soft noises as they hit the hardwood floor while he paced, and his stormy-blue eyes constantly alert and watchful for any danger that might come his way.

As she opened the door wider, it made a soft creaking noise. It was almost unnoticeable, but not unnoticeable to the Tin Man. His eyes came to the door and found hers.

Immediately his hardened and focused gaze softened and he gave her a small smile.

“Hey there, Princess.” That alone was enough to send her rushing into his arms for a well-earned hug. He lifted her a couple centimeters off the floor to hold her better, one arm around her waist, the other stroking her hair. Her arms were around his shoulders holding onto him as if he’d disappear if she let him go.

He breathed in the scent of her hair just happy that he could be there with her. The pacing he’d done earlier was because of nerves. Just the thought of seeing her again after so long made his heart pound and his breath quicken and he had no earthly idea as to why.

DG didn’t at all mind the name he gave her. Everyone else called her DG, Deeg, or some royal title like Highness or Majesty, which irked her to no end, and even Ambrose still called her Doll like Glitch had. Cain was the only one who called her Princess. To her from him, it sounded like one of the pet names he gave her like Kid or Kiddo during their adventures in the beginning.

Cain set her down on her feet and gave her a good look over. “So how’s royal life treating you?” She’d been thrust into this life so suddenly and quickly, he sometimes wondered how she kept her sanity in tact.

She shrugged, not giving anything positive or negative away. “I can’t complain.” Her eyes then shifted to look directly into his. “What I have been wondering is where you have been. After the memorial service you just disappeared. It’s been a little lonely around here without you.” At this, her smile drooped a little.

Cain felt his heart constrict a little with guilt. Right after the memorial service for those lost during the Black Witch’s tyranny, Cain had been called away to help the Royal Militia round up renegade Longcoats. He knew he should have said goodbye in some form or another, but didn’t think that she’d notice him gone with her new life as one of the crown princesses of the O.Z.; plus he thought that Glitch and Raw would keep her company. “What not enough company with the Furball and the Zipperhead around?”

This caused DG’s smile to completely disappear into a small frown and cast her eyes downwards, as if afraid to look at him. That’s when Cain knew that he had been very wrong in that assumption. “Raw and the other Viewers went back to their homeland a couple of weeks ago. As for Glitch…Ambrose… I don’t even know what to call him anymore; I haven’t seen much of him lately. He’s been so busy with Mother about the return of the Old Ways in the O.Z. Tudor’s been keeping me busy with lessons and everything, but it’s just not the same.”

Cain gave a small sigh of regret and looked at her. You had better fix this mess Cain. “Well Kiddo, if it’s any consolation, it looks like you’ll be stuck with me for awhile.”

DG looked up at Cain with surprise as a smile began to creep across her face. “What…what do you mean?”
This caused Cain to give her a small smile. “Well, apparently the Queen has decided to hold some sort of reward ceremony followed by a dance for all of the heroes of the Double Eclipse and to re-introduce the royal family to society. Besides, my old home is in ruins and Jeb’s got a place of his own, but he doesn’t need his old man bothering him…”

“Wyatt Cain, you are certainly not an old man, nor are you a bother to anyone,” said DG sternly, but her eyes betrayed her as they lit up with happiness with the prospect of him staying in the palace plus the idea of seeing Raw and Glitch more because of the ball coming up.

Cain gave a soft chuckle as DG chastised him for calling himself old and a bother. That was just so DG; she just had this personality that lit up a room and made that person’s spirits rise. This girl was uniquely special, not just because she was a princess or had magical powers, but because of the effect she had on people. People like him, who’d thought they’d closed their hearts off to everyone forever.

Banishing the sentimental thoughts away, he offered her his arm and said, “C’mon Princess, why don’t you give this not so old and un-bothersome Tin Man a tour of this palace.”
DG smiled and she took his arm as they headed towards the hall. “Why don’t we head tour the gardens first. I absolutely love the view it has, plus we’ll be where eager ears and eyes can’t listen in or watch us. I want to hear all about your trip since leaving Finaqua.”

“Sounds like a plan.” And they walked side by side out the door.

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Azkadellia looked up from her reading to see her sister and the Tin Man walking through the palace gardens sharing stories and having a good time. She wished that she could join them, but fatigue had gotten the best of her for right now. After the witch had been banished from her mind, body, and soul, she had started having bouts of fatigue every so often, even after getting a good night’s sleep. After being seen by several healers and witnessing heartbreaking tears from DG and their parents, news had been given that because the witch had been inside her for so long, there would be side effects as she recuperated and fatigue was, luckily, the only one.

She smiled as she watched the DG and the Tin Man talk. She wouldn’t have wanted to interrupt those two anyway. After Cain had abruptly left after the memorial service, DG had been sad and it got worse after Raw left and even more so after Ambrose became swept up in his advisory duties to Queen Lavender. Azkadellia herself missed the Viewer terribly. Raw had been able to help her see through the dark places of her mind and heart to make sense of everything that had happened and begin to heal from it.

Now that Cain was back at the palace, her sister would be happy again and that’s all Azkadellia could ask for her. She was about to go back to her reading, when she spotted Ambrose coming out to the gardens towards her. Azkadellia smiled at him and placed her book on a nearby table to talk to him properly. Since Ambrose had come from a wealthy and powerful family, Azkadellia and he had been friends since childhood. Unfortunately, that friendship had ended after the witch possessed her.

After Ambrose’s brain had been restored by the Alchemist, Azkadellia feared that he would hate her for her part in everything. But to her utter surprise, he immediately forgave and proposed a new start in their friendship. Azkadellia had been thrilled. Apparently both Ambrose’s and Glitch’s personalities were blending nicely together. The last few weeks had been wonderful for both of them, but there time together was still shortened with his duties to Queen Lavender. With the prospect of an awards ceremony coming up, Azkadellia could only hop that they'd be able to spend more time together.

“Hello Az,” said Ambrose as he came up beside her. “How are you feeling today?”

Azkadellia put on her best smile to hide her fatigue and said, “I’m feeling pretty good today.”

“Oh I don’t know about that,” he said as he gave her a good look over. “Shoes off, feet tucked under, lounging in a leisure chair, reading book at the table…All of this during this time of day, on a day like this? What’s really going on, Az?”

Azkadellia was just shocked at how Ambrose knew her so well even after so much time had passed and how they each had changed during that time. “Just…just a little fatigue. Deeg and I went riding to her old home today and we raced through the travel storm.”

“Well that’s to be expected.” Ambrose sat in the chair next to her. “But, you shouldn’t feel as if you have to hide your problems. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal and it’s very natural to experience side effects from it. This condition doesn’t make you weak.”

Azkadellia felt tears threaten to well up in her eyes. It seemed that only Ambrose and DG could make her feel unashamed about what had happened to her and her recovery. She reached out, took Ambrose’s hand, and squeezed it. “Thank you Ambrose.”
She was pleased when he squeezed back and gave her a heartwarming smile. “Anytime, Az.”

Then, DG’s laughter rang out through the gardens. Azkadellia and Ambrose turned to see DG on one of the benches nearby with Cain standing next to her. She was holding her sides with her right arm while her left hand covered her mouth as she was trying to control her laughter. Cain’s face seemed relaxed and happy as he was talking to the princess, obviously the one making her laugh.

“Well, well, well look whose back.” He turned back to Azkadellia. “When?"
Azkadellia, however, didn’t meet his gaze. She kept her gaze on her sister and Cain. “A few hours ago. She looks so happy, doesn’t she?”

Ambrose nodded and turned back to look at the two. “Yeah, maybe they’ll finally realize that they really like each other and act on those feelings.” When Azkadellia didn’t answer, Ambrose turned back to her. He saw that she was smiling, but her eyes were troublesome and sad. Why was she so sad and troubled?

As if reading his thoughts, she said, “You know, I wish someone would look at me the way that Mister Cain looks at my sister. We’ve had many people come to call at the palace wishing my mother well on the restart of her reign and welcoming DG back from the Other Side…But when they look at me, all they look at me all they see is the witch.”

She then turned to Ambrose and he saw her eyes welling up with tears. “They hate me.” She waved away any protests that Ambrose may have with her hand. "They hate me, Ambrose! All they want to see is my head on a stick and…”

“No!!” Ambrose spoke so sharply that he spooked some of the birds from their resting places in the bushes, flowers, and trees nearby. Azkadellia looked at Ambrose. He looked fierce, like a wild cat ready to pounce on an offending prey. He took Azkadellia’s right hand in his left one and began to stroke his thumb across the top.

“Nobody hates you, Az.” Ambrose finally choked out. She began to protest, but Ambrose silenced her with a finger on her lips. “Scared of you, most definitely, I can attest to that,” he said with a hint of a smile, “but never hate. Give them some time and they’ll come around.”

Azkadellia smiled as tears of gratitude slid down her cheeks. Ambrose reached over and brushed them away with his thumb. She was about to reply when something caught Ambrose’s eye. She turned to see a page coming out into the gardens towards them.

“Princess Azkadellia, Advisor Ambrose,” the page said as he bowed to each. “Their Majesties, Queen Lavender and Prince Consort Ahamo, requests your presences, as well as Princess DG and Tin Man Wyatt Cain, immediately.”

“Of course,” said Azkadellia. As the page moved towards DG and Cain, Azkadellia untucked her legs, put on her boots, picked up her book, and stood up. Actually, she tried to stand up, but she felt a wave of exhaustion come over her and she sat right back down on the chair with a faint “plop.” She looked up at Ambrose with pleading eyes, asking for help and yet not saying it. Ambrose gave her a small, kind smile and nodded his head in understanding. Putting one arm around her shoulders, and giving her his other to hold onto, he helped Azkadellia to her feet and began to walk her to the castle.

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Okay, what do you think. Like it? Hate it?

Please lemme know, constructive criticism is always welcome.